After the destructive spell against the kiwis, Yasir Shah has become the fastest bowler to take 200 test wickets. He achieved this feat during the third test against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi.
The Moment It Happened
The Pakistani leg-spinner needed to send just five more players back to the pavilion to break the record. Which he accomplished during the fourth day’s play by taking the wicket of William Somerville (4) in the second innings. By doing so, Shah broke the 82-year-old records of Clarrie Grimmet, an Australian bowler. Grimmet took his 200th wicket against South Africa, in his 36th test match, 3 matches more than the new record holder. Yasir Shah debuted against Australia in 2014, in a match where he took an astounding seven wickets. Since then, shah has only climbed up the ladder of success in the Pakistani cricket team. Not only this, Yasir shah is also the second fastest test bowler to reach 100 wickets (17 matches), second only to the Englishman George Lohmann who reached the target in 16 matches during a Test in Johannesburg in 1896.
His Performance
He achieved this with performances such as 12 wickets against Australia, 15 against New Zealand in 2014, and 24 wickets against Sri Lanka the next year. That was followed by 24 wickets against Sri Lanka in 2015 and ten wickets in a match to beat England at Lord’s a year later. He took 21 and 25 wickets respectively in series wins over the West Indies. Yasir’s performance in Dubai, for the second test match, was the second best match return ever for the Pakistani test team. These figures were second only to the former captain and the current premier of the country, Imran Khan, who took 14 wickets for 116 runs in a match against Sri Lanka in 1982, hosted in Lahore.